Coatings World - July 2014

PPG Industries’ protective and marine coatings business has launched SIGMAGLIDE 1290 system, a 100 percent silicone binder fouling release system that uses a dynamic surface regeneration technology to eliminate slime problems and dramatically increase fuel savings compared to existing fouling release products.

Through chemical engineering of the 100 percent pure silicone binder system at a molecular level, PPG has been able to design the optimal configuration for the silicone coating surface, according to Sijmen Visser, PPG global marketing manager, marine. This results in an increased silicone density at the surface to such a degree that slime organisms do not recognize it as a surface substrate and have no chance to settle on it, significantly extending the effectiveness of the coating.

A well-known drawback of fouling release technologies is that their effectiveness decreases over time, Visser said. This is often seen at the waterline, where the impact of sunlight, dirt and ultraviolet (UV) radiation has a negative effect and leads to the aggregation of slime. PPG’s research and development team has overcome this problem, he said, by engineering the SIGMAGLIDE 1290 system to include dynamic surface regeneration properties. These enable water to act as a catalyst to reduce the surface energy of the coating back to its original state and thus restart its beneficial surface configuration properties. As a result, customers will experience no loss in performance and improved stability of the product throughout its lifetime, Visser said. The combination of the 100 percent silicone binder fouling release system with the ability of the surface to dynamically regenerate makes the SIGMAGLIDE 1290 system a breakthrough technology for the marine coatings market, according to Visser.

The product is suitable for all ves-
sel types and also when long stationary
periods are to be considered, such as
with floating production, storage and
offloading (FPSO) units. It also brings
significant benefits for cruise and ferry
operators as well as owners of tankers,
bulkers, gas carriers, dredgers and con-
tainer ships. Visser said that over the past
decade, the cruise industry has benefited
considerably from the SIGMAGLIDE
system thanks to a combination of its
proven fuel saving, aesthetic benefits and
ability to deliver a fast return on invest-
ment. The SIGMAGLIDE 1290 system
builds on the already proven success of
the SIGMAGLIDE fouling release range,
used on more than 400 vessels world-
wide including many cruise ships. As
fouling doesn’t adhere, even at lower
speed, the SIGMAGLIDE 1290 system
is also beneficial for the offshore indus-
try, where assets are static or for vessels
that are slow steaming but still require
a high level of fouling protection. “Over
the last two decades we have received
many spontaneous confirmations from
customers of fuel savings in values rang-
ing between 3-13 percent delivered by
our SIGMAGLIDE fouling release prod-
ucts,” Visser said. “SIGMAGLIDE 1290
[system] ensures that our customers can
now benefit from advanced slime pro-
tection and extended fuel savings that
go way beyond anything that was pre-
viously possible. With our continued
quest to improve on the success of the
SIGMAGLIDE range, we have succeed-
ed in raising the bar once more with the
launch of the SIGMAGLIDE 1290 foul-
ing release coating.”

AkzoNobel Unveils
Interpon Align Powder
Coatings for High Corrosion
Protection

AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings busi-
ness has launched an innovative two-
coat, one-bake powder coating system
which offers customers significant
productivity and energy efficiency
improvements and can also result in
lower capital investment.

Utilizing dry-on-dry coatings technology, Interpon Align delivers superior edge coverage and corrosion performance, while eliminating one full cure cycle. The result is a shortened coating cycle leading to improved productivity and, in some cases, reduced capital investment.

“As the global market leader in pow-
der coatings we are constantly looking to
innovate and focus more sharply on the
needs of our customers,” said John Wolff,
managing director AkzoNobel Powder
Coatings. “Interpon Align is a perfect ex-
ample of our sustainable innovation, hav-
ing already been proven to consistently
increase efficiency and output by up to 30
percent during commercial use.”
Added global implementation man-
ager, Dan Hrkalovich: “Traditional two-
coat powder coating solutions require a
cure after the primer and another cure af-
ter the top coat. Interpon Align has been
designed to eliminate the primer curing
process, as the two coating layers are
cured simultaneously. This results in sig-
nificantly improved productivity, as well
as energy and cost savings.”
The new technology can be tailored
to meet exact color and performance re-
quirements, resulting in a wide range of
end-use products, including thick and
heavy mass metal parts that meet the
most demanding OEM specifications for
protection and appearance.

Valspar Introduces
WeatherXL Crinkle Finish
for Coil Coatings

Valspar has announced a new addition to the WeatherXL product line. WeatherXL Crinkle Finish delivers the same durability as WeatherXL, but offers unique performance that you can be sees and felt. The textured appearance on WeatherXL Crinkle Finish redirects light for enhanced visual depth, promising a step change enhancement over flat-panels’